"We are Newcastle United, we have been resoundingly beaten and I have to try to lift the players."

Pardew believes Newcastle, who he guided to fifth place last season, have been hampered by injuries and the demands of European competition.

"We've got 11 senior players out and it looks like Steven Taylor could be another one out for a while with a hamstring injury," he said.

"The difference between last season and this is playing in the Europa League. Everything seems to be going against us."

Stoke, in 12th place with 16 points, are undefeated in their past three outings, having accounted for Queens Park Rangers and Fulham in the process.

While Stoke were beaten twice by Newcastle last season, they have not lost in their past 13 matches at the Britannia Stadium and head into the game as favourites.

"This club has progressed unbelievably over the past four or five years, and bringing the players in that the manager has done this year shows that the club want to continue to move forward," midfielder Charlie Adam told the Stoke website following the 1-0 win over Fulham on Saturday.

"I think we have all the tools in our locker to play anyway we need to in order to get the points on the board."